Interview: Jamal Anderson
The retired Falcon reminds us how a real pro acts.
by Scott Collura

August 29, 2007 - Jamal Anderson was a running back for the Atlanta Falcons from 1994 to 2001, and while talking to the retired pro recently, one thing sprang to our minds: Atlanta fans sure could use the cheery presence of a guy like Anderson in these dark days of the Michael Vick scandal.

IGN caught up with Anderson on the occasion of EA's launch of Madden NFL 08, and during the conversation the ex-player regaled us with, among other things, tales of his days as one of the first motion-capture models for videogames. Anderson proved to be a real riot to hang out with for the brief time that we chatted, and he sure came across as an example of how professional athletes should act. Take note, Vick.

IGN: Do younger people have an advantage now with these games if they're trying to make a career out of a sport?

Jamal Anderson: No, because there are a lot of guys who are fantastically talented who don't have fantastically talented minds. You know, in football, yes, you see these Adonises on the football field when they come through the tunnel. But you've got to be able to think. The greatest players know how to break down a game. Now, you look at Marshall Faulk, he could break down a defense 10 different ways. Until he played against my defense, Utah, in college… [laughs] At which time we promptly shut Mr. Faulk out, but anyway… [laughs] But you know, Dickerson and Warren Moon, you look at the players who really had success, they know about the team. And there can be fans who love football who maybe weren't tall enough, weren't fast enough, whatever reason, but who know the game and know the strategy of the game, who [in videogames] can be just as good as or better than the players.

IGN: You hear about these young guys who can't read the playbook.

Jamal Anderson: Oh yeah, there's plenty of players like that, but you've got to think about it, man. Particularly going from the college level to the pros, the speed of the game and the transition and the demands, it's a whole different life. It takes a guy from college -- yeah, someone may come in and have a lights-out rookie season -- but it takes you two or three years to get used to being on the pro level and assimilating to how it is to be a pro and the demands. I remember when I got drafted by the Falcons, I was like, 'O.K., well we had a meeting at like two o'clock in college and we practiced at like 2:30, three o'clock.' I'm thinking, like, 'Whew, after training camp I don't have to be here until like noon or one o'clock.' But it's all day. This is your job. I think people do not realize, with the exception of Tuesday, we are there every day. Christmas, Thanksgiving, when you're eating and opening presents, we're at the facility. We're there every day from nine o'clock to six o'clock, sometimes eight to five or six. If you have a coach who watches film after practice, which is what we did my last couple of years, I was getting there at seven, 7:30, I was going home at 6:30. So it's a long day.

IGN: And then there's the whole aspect of injury.

Jamal Anderson: Exactly, exactly.

IGN: Are you into the sports videogames?

Jamal Anderson: I am. Absolutely, I am. EA's kind of been in this phase in the past couple of years where they've kind of topped each other. I've gotten a look at the 360 version of Madden 08 and it's amazing. It's just crazy now. I was one of the first guys to do motion-capture, so to see this game evolve and the things that you're able to do, I may just come back [to the pros] just to be able to get back on the game. [laughs]

IGN: Right, because you have to be an active player to be on Madden.

Jamal Anderson: Yeah, but every now and then they'll have a legends game or they'll put out like an all-Madden team, like the greatest all-Madden team and stuff like that. But obviously the current players and the current teams right now are all in the game and those are the guys you get, but you can access the other games. You can access older players too. But it's just, it's so realistic now, it's crazy. It is crazy.

IGN: Do you have kids?

Jamal Anderson: I do.

IGN: And do you play with them?

Jamal Anderson: I do. My son kicks my butt, my 13-year-old boy. I haven't won in about two years. I haven't! He gets home from school, gets his homework done, and then he can go in there and practice whenever. He's like on the videogames and he plays people from all over. My thing, the fun thing for me is to play the game, get on the Internet and play against other people. I think a lot of players do that. Think about how much fun it is. You could be sitting down… I'm in my living room in Atlanta playing somebody in Alaska! You know what I'm saying?

IGN: But the question is, does the guy in Alaska know who he's playing? That he's playing a pro?

Jamal Anderson: Most of the time, no. Like when I first started doing it, getting online, I remember I had Chuck Smith and Jermaine Dupree, my friends online, they were like, 'Yo, man, you've got to get online.' I'm like, 'O.K., I'm gonna do it.' You kind of chat a little bit and [tell the people who you are and] people are like, 'O.K…' You can't see anything, so it's no big deal, man.

IGN: What was it like doing the motion-capture back in the day?

Jamal Anderson: You know what, man? I'm telling you, when I got hooked, probably my most favorite game of all time was like College 93. That game was awesome, but the only problem was they didn't have every college team back then. There was like the elite teams, so we weren't on the game. [laughs] So Utah started stomping people nationally, and then we got some respect! But I'm telling you … there was a room a quarter of the size of this room, and I did the first motion-capture there. And then a couple of years later it was a huge studio with a football field. It's just the evolution of the game. It evolved. My biggest bragging point to tell people, when we first started doing the motion-capture stuff, I'd be like, 'Yeah, Barry Sanders is incredible, huh? That's my move, dude, that's not Barry! I did the motion-capture! That's me. I'm incredible!' I did other people's touchdown dances -- of course, mine was the most popular. I don't think so, but that's what the people say. [laughs]